Posted on October 9, 2014 by Gabriela Sandoval Requena New York City has set a new record, but one not to be proud of: the number of individuals experiencing homelessness every day has reached nearly 57,000, the highest since modern homelessness began. Tonight, well over 13,000 families with more than 24,000 children, many of whom are school-aged, will sleep in homeless shelters. Homelessness, as numerous research studies document, produces great stress on young students, affecting their academic performance and disrupting their attendance, as well as causing emotional trauma and health problems. Commissioner of the Department of Homeless Services, Gilbert Taylor, told WNYC’s Brian Lehrer that the City has begun responding to the all-time record homelessness they inherited from the previous administration. The Commissioner remains hopeful that the newly implemented rent subsidy programs, and added resources to HomeBase, will soon begin to reduce the homeless census, and he is committed to do more: “I believe that if there were additional resources they would always be helpful. They can certainly help the individuals and families who are in shelter to exit from shelter. At this juncture, what we have now is more than we had when with Administration took office. We are looking at all the resources that are available, not just on the front end in prevention, but also in the back end, to help families and individuals move to permanent housing.” [Source] As Brian Lehrer puts it, this new record homelessness is truly a disgrace.
